Pastel Veins
by Amberallentx
Summary: I had a dream and promised a friend that I would write this for her. Sorry if it sucks.
1. Chapter 1

Prologue

It started small. In little towns and traveling camps. Red eyes and hungry souls. The news reports were gruesome, showing the bodies under sheets and the remaining families dripping with grief. The first true sighting of one was in New York during a protest. An all-night equal rights campaign turned into a slaughter. Thousands ripped to pieces and hundreds turned. Their numbers grew. It went from one in a one thousand to one in twenty.

In two weeks there was barely a military left and what was left were cowards. We fought the entire time but resistances were found out and the members used as blood bags. Normal people began to rise creating fortresses to keep them out and us in. They were as bad as the monsters they claimed they were protecting us from. If they protected you then you owed something in return. Whether it was a possession or yourself. If you refused they made an example of you and sent you back out into the world with the monsters who were somehow less scary than the fabricated humans. I am an observer. This story is from my point of view. Please believe it.


	2. Chapter One

There was a group of them hunting. Looking for fresh blood. They came across a group of women. Beautiful in the past societies opinion. Two of them fell quickly screaming a name and crying for help. One put up a fight but eventually succumbed. The last one… They didn't even notice her until she kneeled next to one of the screamers. She placed her hand on the woman's head. The fighter was still up at this time and threw a metal pole at one. Missing it and hitting the other woman knocking her out. The monsters looked at each other and grinned. Easy meal. But when they turned back toward her after taking down the fighter they were shocked to find her sitting up with a vacant look on her face. When they approached her, she didn't react. She merely watched them as they got close enough to pounce. When they did she still didn't move at all.

They fed on her but noticed that as soon as they stopped feeding she healed. Instantly. After testing for almost an hour they decided to take her with them and present her to their leader. It was an interesting sight. Two carnage covered almost humans dragging a woman who looked like she had walked out of a silent film along with them. They passed many of their species, few of them attempted to take a bite. She still healed the same. More of them stopped and stared at this impossible creature even though they themselves should be impossible. She was presented to their master. A being named Klaus. When he introduced himself, she spoke for the first time.

"My name is Adalia." Her voice was quiet and monotone. Like a preprogrammed greeting. He smiled at her "Well… Adalia. My companions tell me of an interesting talent of yours. Care to demonstrate?" He gestured to the table he was sitting at specifically the silverware. She stepped forward and grabbed the biggest one. She didn't hesitate to put her hand on the table and stab straight through it. He looked at her carefully and saw a small flinch but besides that no other change in her demeanor. Pulling the knife out of her hand and the table she put it down and stepped back. "A rare talent." He smiles again the same small smile as before. "I have a request." She tilted her head at him.

"What request?" He gestured to the table again.

"Join me for dinner." She stood up straight.

"Of course." He ordered the two minions to bring another chair and prepare another plate of food.

"So how old are you?" he asked curious about this healer.

"I am eighteen." He nodded but, in his mind, he was shocked. She was barely more than a child but she carried herself like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders and she was determined not to show it.

"Where did you come from?"

"Vern Hall." This two-word sentence was the first that she had put emotion into. Anger, very slight.

"Where is that?"

She sat straighter in her chair. "I will tell you but you must promise not to go."

He furrowed his brow and clenched his jaw before asking. "Why?"

She almost ducked her head. "It is ten miles north of here and they will kill you."

"Oh?"

"That's what he does to your kind."

Klaus leaned forward. "What does he do exactly?"

She looked straight at him when she spoke, fear not an option in her mind. "He leaves little holes in the defenses so only one of you can get in at a time. He captures you and ties you to a pole in the square before lighting you on fire. If you don't die by burning alive he sticks a spear in your head and he leaves you there, for days. It's a way to show his power. A way to show his people that he could do the same to them if they don't appreciate the "protection" he provides."

He leaned back anger boiling up under his calm façade. He had sent men north before and none of them had come back. "If I showed you a map could you tell me exactly where it is?" She nodded and he stood walking over to the desk against the wall. He turns to find her next to him. He didn't hear her move. She was small. Barely reaching his shoulder. Her hair was auburn and it reached her waist. Her eyes when she looked at him were emerald green and looking into them was like getting lost in the woods. "Here." Her voice shook him out of his quiet observation of her. He looked at where she was pointing and found the zone where his scouts disappear. "Why did you leave?" He noticed a definite change in her stance, she went from standing relaxed to standing rigidly like someone had run ice fingers up her spine.

"I am his favorite."

"What do you mean?" He asked already dreading her answer.

She looked straight ahead out the window as she explained. "There are women he deems prettier than the rest. So he keeps them for himself. They are ranging from 12 to 26. I am his favorite because I heal. He can do whatever he wants to me and I don't feel it. It goes away. He wants a son so he gets the woman pregnant. If they have daughters they drop in his favorites rankings and the daughters are given away. He has had one son but it was stillborn. The mother disappeared and the baby was given a proper burial. He hasn't tried completely with me yet. I think he's afraid that the child I produce will be like me. A freak."

Klaus was disgusted by what he heard but he needed to know one more thing. "How old were you when you became one of his favorites?"

"I was 13. My parents had just died. I needed a home."

The slight almost indistinguishable tremor in her voice made his mind up for him. "I think I will go pay this Vern Hall a visit." He looked down at her "And you're going to help me."

She looked at him. "How?"

He smiled an expression she was already used to from him. A smile that said he knew more than he said. " You're going to get us in."

"How? I ran away with three of his new favorites. The ones that still had hope. He is not even going to want to see me. And the entire compound is surrounded by guards."

"It's in the woods, yes?" She nodded "Then you will stand at the edge of the woods and I will have my men gather hidden behind you."

She tilted her head to the side. "Where will you be?"

"Right next to you. You will stand at the edge and put your hand back. I will grab it and step forward so he can see us together. When we really get his attention…" He glanced at her lips and made a decision. "I will kiss you."

"Why?" She asked genuinely curious.

Klaus smiled once more. "If he thinks that you escaped to be with another man and are happy with that man…"

"He'll come out to meet me." She showed full emotion for the first time as she smiled at him.

When she did his cold heart seemed to skip a beat. "But first we need to find you a change of clothes." He gestured to her torn and dirty white dress. "If you are supposed to be happy you must be clean." He gently gripped her hand and took her to his personal tailor. "Denley," Klaus said as he entered the room. There were clothing racks against every wall ranging from fine suits to cheap Halloween costumes. "Klaus!" A voice exclaimed and a thin man came around a corner. He had blood on his chin and a smile on his face. "Ready to try on the specialty suit I made for you?"

Klaus smirked "No but I did bring you someone to dress." He spun Adalia around to show her potential.

Denley smiled even wider. "A new doll! How soon do you need her dressed?"

"You have one hour before I need her."

Denley clapped his hands together gleefully. "Perfect! I already have the perfect dress in mind!"

Klaus nodded releasing Adalia. "I will return for you in one hour." She simply nods her face devoid of any emotion once more.


	3. Chapter Two

An hour later Klaus is in different clothing waiting outside the door. When he had knocked Denley had firmly told him to wait. He checked his watch and looked out of the window. The sun was setting sending small sunrays into the building. "Is this better?" A quiet voice asked. Klaus turned to find Adalia standing in the open doorway. She was wearing a seafoam colored dress that left her shoulders bare. The front of the dress was at her knees and the back trailed behind her. The back laced up like a corset. Along the edges of the top and bottom, there were sheer flowers stitched into the dress, red jewels in the center of each. There was a red ribbon tied around her neck and her hair was piled into elegant ringlets on top of her head. A gentle air of the Victorian age hung around her. Again Klaus felt his heart skip a beat. "Yes, it's much better."

They went to the compound and Klaus saw the place that Adalia had grown up the last six years. It was well built but obviously amateur. He felt her stiffen when she saw the place. When he turned to her she was looking at him. "Ready?" He nodded once and she stepped out of the forest. "I want to speak to Vern." She yelled. He saw the guards reactions to her appearance. Shock. Awe. But one of the guards looked angry like he was angry over her existence. "Why should he speak to you?"

She smiled gently and put her hand back. Dragomir grabbed it and stepped out of the woods. "Because I'm happy." One of the guards ran while the angry one looked even angrier. A man came back up with the other guard. A man who was balding and old. He looked frail from his point of view but from Adalias' reaction that was Vern. She gripped his hand tighter. "Come to beg forgiveness?" He smirked a smug gleam in his eyes. Klaus squeezed her hand once as a reminder that he was there. She took a deep breath in. "No. I wanted to show why I escaped. Why I'm happy for the first time in six years." She turned and Klaus very gently gripped her chin and kissed her. His heartbeat was the fastest it had been since he became a monster. They released each other and smiled. They turned back to the compound to find Vern and the angry guard gone. "Is he coming?" She asked breathlessly.

"Yes." He answered just as breathlessly. "Be ready." He spoke to the men behind him. The door of the compound opened and Vern and his two guards stomped out. Adalias' grip tightened. "YOU WHORE!" Vern yelled as he stopped in front of them spittle flying. "I SAVED YOU! I LET YOUR FAMILY LIVE WITH ME! BY MY GRACE YOU SURVIVED! AND THIS- "He gestured to Klaus who was slowly getting murderous." IS HOW YOU REPAY ME?" He stood there heaving. Klaus was able to keep his cool until he heard the angry guards comment. "No wonder you're happy. All you have to do is spread your legs and they fall." He lost it at that comment as he dropped Adalias hand and rushed forward putting his hand into the guards and ripping out his heart.

"Now!" He yelled and his people attacked. "Remember! We don't touch the women in white!" He said recalling the condition she had said. "There were five pregnant favorites the last I saw. I don't want them to die." He had agreed so he went to find them after turning back to help her with Vern and seeing her shake her head. He went into the compound and truly saw the disgusting disaster it was. There was blood and screams everywhere as he stepped over bodies of both his people and Verns. He found the women exactly where she said. Behind a locked door in his office. They screamed when he opened the door and it was a little difficult to calm them when he was covered in blood but he managed. When he got the woman back out he found Adalia sitting cross-legged in the grass covered in blood next to what was left of Vern's body. "Adalia? Are you all right?" She blinked and for the third time of many, she smiled. "I got my childhood back."


	4. Chapter Three

As they traveled back this time with the women and a few more blood bags Adalia began to sing. Klaus looked at her in shock but allowed it because of the reactions she got from the women. "We bled for our freedom. We did not die but we cried. For freedom, we went through hell and back. We've suffered pain and grief. But we are free. Free to fly. Free to live. Free to die." She continued this power ballad for a short time but it was enough to remind the women of the place they were rescued from. When they arrived back to the manor in which Klaus lived, Adalia went to Denley's room with the women trailing after her. Denley screamed in delight upon seeing her bloody and "positively war-torn" as he put it. Before he even looked at the other women he did her makeup with blood red lipstick and took photos of his new favorite doll. He hung them up in the hall and Dragomir found them. The pastel aesthetic of the photos ruined and somehow made better by the red on her being. Klaus walked into the room to discover all of the woman dressed in different clothes, all muted tones and loose to accommodate their growing stomachs. Adalia was the difference. Denley let his imagination run wild once more and had put her in a fifties style dress complete with small white gloves and a string of pearls. Her hair was in loose curls down her back. "Enjoying yourself Denley?" He asked greatly amused. Denley whipped around to look at him.

"Yes, I am! Thank you for my new dolls Klausy!"

Dragomir flinched and simply said, "Don't call me that." While the women let loose small laughs. He thought he heard Adalia laugh as well. "My apologies ladies. I have not introduced myself. Klaus Mikaelson at your service." He gave a small bow.

The woman who was obviously the oldest and furthest along spoke. "It's all right. My name is Minnie." She went around introducing all of them. Elena, Eliza, Connie, and Grace. All of them were in varying stages of pregnancy.

"It's an honor." He leaned back against the wall. "I must say that without your companion there-"He pointed to Adalia who nodded slightly. "-you would not be here." The women all smiled gently and simply said: "We know." He directed them to the safe rooms that they would stay in and kept Adalia near him. He did not miss the meaningful glances they shot her or the blank stares she gave them back. He took her back to the dining room for a question he wanted to ask in private. "What's wrong Klaus?" She asked once he had closed the door.

"I have another request."

She looked suspicious but asked. "What?"

He gulped silently. "I wish to taste you."

Her suspicious face disappeared and she gave a small smile. "Is that all?" He must have looked shocked because she gave a small chuckle before composing herself. "You saved me and the women I have come to care about. I owe you whatever you want." He shook his head.

"No. You do not owe me. I will only feed off of you if you are content with it."

She smiled again. "I have no qualms." He gave a reassuring smile as he stepped closer to her. He moved the dress down slightly so when he bit her it would still be hidden. She gasped when he sank his fangs into her. The taste of her blood was like taking a bite of the richest cake in the world. Like the deepest chocolate. He drank deeper than he probably should and she collapsed unconscious ripping her shoulder from his mouth. He panted and with every breath tasted her. Her eyes opened and she sat up sitting on her knees. "Do I taste good?" She asked from her perch on the ground. He smiled and helped her stand. His arms went around her waist and he hugged her from behind nuzzling her neck. "Exquisite."


	5. Chapter Four

The women fell into a routine. Waking at seven am every morning and enjoying the sun coming through the windows. Spending the day in their rooms without fear of him walking in and attacking them. They were safe or so they thought. After a week of them being there and a week of Adalia and Klaus bonding which included nighttime walks, hiding from Denley when he was drunk, eating dinner together every night, and talking about the other outposts Vern had. Klaus heard a scream from the hall outside his study. He rushed out to find Eliza the youngest favorite on the floor with one of his men over her. She had blood pouring from a wound in her arm and a look of terror in her eyes. "What do you think you are doing?!" He roared frightening the monster who turned to face him. "They have been here for a week. It's time they start paying up."

He grinned and only stopped when Klaus picked him up by his neck. "Did I not specifically say not to touch the women in white?"

The creature looked at him in terror and attempted to backtrack. "I thought-"

"That's right. You thought. And you thought wrong." He said as he tore the man's throat out. "Ridiculous." He stated as he flung the body away. He turned to Eliza and squatted down as she tried to crawl away from him. "It's all right now, Kitten. I won't hurt those she cares about." Confusion replaced the fear on her face as the other women and Adalia ran into the hall.

"Eliza!" Connie yelled as she ran to her side, her baby bump barely showing. "Are you all right?!" She began to check her over but Eliza didn't change. She still looked at him with confusion even as Connie wrapped her arm up with the bandages Elena got. "What happened?" Adalia asked staring at the body lying only feet away.

"He attacked her. Apparently, he couldn't follow orders." He said glancing at the body.

She must have seen the disappointment on his face because she placed her hand on his arm and simply said "My sympathies." He gave a gentle smile and put his hand on her lower back pushing her slightly.

"Go comfort them." She smiled back as she went to take care of these soon to be mothers. He turned back to them and noticed the look on Eliza's face. Understanding mixed with smugness and anticipation.


	6. Chapter Five

"Klaus!" His advisor exclaimed grabbing his attention as he had been staring at Adalia through the window while she was directing his men to build a garden. She told him it was a perfect example of humanity. An example of care that would lure in new people. Human and other. "This woman… what is so special about her?" Olin asked also looking at her shouting at the monsters who hissed at the sun. Klaus smiled as he watched her go from shouting directions to nurturing the women who sat in the grass.

"She is a survivor. She shows emotion even though she thinks it means that she is weak. She can turn vicious when she is threatened. She was a small animal backed into a corner whose only choices were to fight or die. She chose both at once and killed her weakness while she fought with her strength." His smile grew wider as he added, "I look forward to testing her." Olin looked at him in shock.

"I thought you liked her?" Klaus turned toward him slightly and answered,

"I do. But in order to continue liking her, she needs to be tested. She heals quickly and she can't die but she can be tortured which is what others will do should they get a hold of her." He turned back toward the window and smirked. "Besides games are fun. Games that involve other people's lives are even more stimulating."

Olin merely shook his head and turned to leave knowing his leader's attention was no longer directed at his own wellbeing. "Olin," Klaus called out to him. He stopped and looked at him. "Go out to her. Tell her I wish for her to join me for dinner. Tell her to go to Denley immediately." He nodded and left not knowing the double meaning behind his words. Adalia caught the not so subtle hint and turned to nod agreeably at Dragomir in the window. When she entered Denley's lair later he was nowhere in sight. "Denley?" she inquired. He poked his head around a rack of winter clothing. He once again had blood on his chin but this time he still had that look in his eyes. That hunger that disappeared into delight when he saw his guest.

"Adalia!" he exclaimed as he stepped completely out holding the hand of a shirtless man. "What brings you here?" Adalia smiled slightly.

"Klaus invited me to dinner. He wants me in something special so he sent me to you." Denley grinned manically "Something special?" He turned to his meal. "Here, darling sit down." He gently pushed the man onto a low stool. "You can watch our montage." He turned back to Adalia, clapped and rubbed his hands together. "Shall we?" They must have gone through 20 different dresses when Denley stopped suddenly and muttered to himself. "No, he couldn't want that dress…" Adalia was removing a pale yellow ballgown from her body when he said that.

"What dress?" Denley ran to the very back of the room all of the sudden and came back with a rolling cart carrying a set of boxes.

"Put this on first." He said quietly nothing like his usual self as he handed her a small white article of clothing. It turned out to be a skintight slip of spandex that helped hide her skin. He then handed her a floor-length white dress that seemed almost too big for her. When she placed it over her head and slipped onto her body she discovered a garment of immense interest to her. It was off her shoulders and just past her elbows opening into loose sleeves. In order to make it fit properly, in one of the smallest boxes, there was a golden rope that Denley tied as tightly as he could almost to the point of pain in her abdomen. He slipped gold bracelets on her wrists and ankles. He sat her down in a chair and wouldn't let her see herself as he did her hair and makeup. The finishing touches involved painting symbols of the sun and moon on her hand and feet and a weight being placed upon her head. "You may see," Denley whispered sounding close to tears. When Adalia opened her eyes, she saw a being of light. Her makeup was gold and shiny like she had stepped out of the sun. The weight on her head belonged to a simple gold tiara that had a single ruby that hung on her forehead. The only hint of color besides her hair and eyes in a sea of white and gold. "When you see him…" Denley started. She turned to him with awe still on her face. "Tell him I said I hope he knows what he is doing." Adalia nodded not understanding but knowing she would do as instructed. She left Denley to his own devices and headed to the dining room where they had first met. She entered with no expectations and found him staring out the window.

"Klaus." She said and he turned toward her his lips parting slightly in shock when he saw her glory. "Denley has a message." He glanced from her dress into her eyes. "He said he hopes you know what you're doing." Something flickered deep in his eyes as his face first hardened and then relaxed into an easy smile.

"Of course. Then shall we?" He held out his hand. Adalia was almost hesitant but accepted placing her hand in his.


End file.
